Annual Toronto-Niagara-Toronto Hairshirt Classic Double Century

322 km in one day!

Sunday, June 27, 2010, 6:00 a.m.

It's been twenty-two years since TBN assumed sponsorship of the Hairshirt, a personal cycling challenge whose name comes from a medieval form of monasterial punishment and penance, in which monks wore shirts woven of very coarse horse hair, causing them to experience extreme discomfort. Founded in 1978 the Hairshirt pits the lonely rider and his/her bicycle against the road and the elements, and for this reason the organizers provide no support other than a map and encouragement. The group leaves Square One Shopping Centre at 6:00 a.m. sharp and you'll have until midnight to complete the ride. Participants must wear CSA-, Snell-, or CPSC-approved helmets. Please bring lights if you expect to finish after dusk. Why not make 2010 your Hairshirt year? Please pre-register by calling Owen Rogers at 416-232-0243 and leaving a message or send email to hairshirt@tbn.ca. As usual, TBN waives the customary $5 participation fee for non-members.

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Preparation:

Unless you're planning on completing the Hairshirt in 12 hours or less your two biggest assets will be self-sufficiency and self-confidence—sub-11 hour doubles require actual training regimes! (Remember that the Hairshirt is relatively flat (2000 m of climbing over 322 km is flat) so if you do most of your mileage in hilly terrain you can reduce the following mileage figures accordingly). Self-sufficiency comes from the ability to effect simple repairs on your bike and having the right clothing and equipment along. Self-confidence will flow out of self-sufficiency and the knowledge that you've trained enough to complete the distance.

Training:
Train at the pace you plan to do the ride at or faster. Eat and drink as you plan to do on the ride. Unless you enjoy suffering you should be completing weekly cumulative distances of 300 km or more by the end of May. Two weeks before the ride do back-to-back centuries on Saturday and Sunday—the TBN's TNT Overnight is perfect for this and fun to boot! The following Saturday do about 220 kms. The next day you should do an easy spin (active rest) of 50 km or less. You can ride through the week but avoid any hard efforts. Starting Thursday make sure you eat well for the next three days. Get plenty of sleep Friday night.

Ride Day

Not a good day to experiment with new equipment, clothes or food!

The Bicycle
Ideally you will be riding a mechanically-sound, drop-handlebar road bike. Bring a pump, patch kit, spare tube(s), tire levers, multi-tool appropriate for your bike. A spare fold-up tire is good insurance.

Clothing
Whatever. Don't use the ride to break in a new pair of shoes or shorts, however.

Food
Gourmands and omnivores can buy stuff along the way
randonneur-style, but a handlebar bag/seatpack/fanny pack filled with high-carbo energy foods is a popular idea and great for picky eaters--there's no guarantee you'll be able to find your favourite foods when you need them.

Water
On a hot day you'll need lots of liquid and water is the least complicated to absorb, but pay attention to replacing electrolytes, as well. You should have at least two 750 ml water bottles on your bike. Throw in a 2 liter camelback-style reservoir and proper hydration will be the last thing on your mind as long as you remember to drink before you're thirsty!

The Unforeseen
You'll need a plan to get back home if your bike gets trashed—chewed up tire, exploding freewheel—or you get exhausted. There are bus stations along the route for example or you could call someone to come pick you up. Just remember to bring your Visa, cellphone and/or calling cards!

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Memories of Hairshirts Past

While the Hairshirt is a non-competitive event and the TBN is a non-competitive club some participants do compete against their own personal bests. We see nothing wrong with this as long as they don't blow any stop lights along the way!

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June 28, 2009

26 cyclists started what has euphemistically been labeled an epic ride. Out of the twelve Hairshirts I've done it was certainly the wettest. Partial results below. Three DNFs. If you require a correction, let me know. Photo gallery with contributions from Dave Pearson, William Russell, Alex Titov and Hugo Van Ingen here.

 

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June 22, 2008

30 cyclists took part -- not bad considering the forecast. It was only sixteen degrees at the start with a steady southwest wind. Things stayed generally cool and overcast until shortly before noon, when fluffy clouds broke out as we passed through Niagara Falls. Late in the afternoon, in Stoney Creek a wicked hailstorm broke out forcing the first groups to take cover. Otherwise a great day to be riding an event like this. Thanks and congrats to everyone who participated, even our non-finishers who I'm sure will be back to try again. Special thanks also to the friends and family who sacrificed a day to drive support. Some great photos courtesy of three-time finisher Greg Williams and a ride report by Rick Upton (PDF).

 

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June 24, 2007

Another record turn out of 43 cyclists participated in this year's event including 22 rookies. All but four managed to finish. The ride actually started on time (thanks, everyone), the weather was excellent, and winds reasonably favourable. Peter Murk has posted his photos of the event start and scenes from the ride here and Ron Clark has written a story about his eighth and most successful Hairshirt experience. If anyone else took pictures and wants to post them let us know at hairshirt@tbn.ca.

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June 25, 2006

A record number of 42 participants (including 22 rookies) turned out for this year's event and with the most unfavourable wind conditions since I've been running this thing, it was good to have so many people out there helping each other around the route. 39 cyclists completed the ride including 19 rookies. Special congratulations to Thien Tran for his 13 hour ride on a fixie, Mike Maloney for navigating the entire course on a recumbent and 17-year-old Mitchell Kaiser for completing the ride at such a young age and in such impressive form. (For you first-timers, it's worth noting that because we did not have an orderly start to this event due to the volume of participants and the late arrival/departure of a few of you (and me), the order of finish may be a bit confusing.) Pics from Greg Williams.

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June 26, 2005

Thirty cyclists including sixteen rookies started this year's ride. The forecast conditions of clear skies, a high of 33 Celsius and *smog* were less than ideal, but the winds were favourable and in spite of a lengthened course (I'll explain later), records fell. The group of five who finished at 10:06 are now co-holders of the overall record and Katharine Sodek managed to reduce her own women's (and TBN member's) record by 36 minutes to 10:09. Congratulations to everyone who participated.

With respect to the changed ride distance, over the years I have had a number of people approach me regarding the actual length of the "classic" route. Upon further and detailed investigation I have confirmed the route ridden from 1990-2004 (R.I.P.) was only 315 km. Well, shame on me for not noticing! Our new, improved route squeaks in at just over 322 km. It has a bit more climbing than the old route, but makes up for that by avoiding the traffic lights of Beamsville, Vinemount and Grimsby until Winona on the outskirts of Stoney Creek. 2006 will see further "refinements" to make this a safe, fun, yet challenging ride for the long distance cyclist. Some pictures courtesy of Peter Murk. And more in the TBN Photo Gallery from Frank Pilih and Jeremy Whitehorn and yet more from Greg Williams. Finally, a great ride report from Greg Wellman.

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June 27, 2004

Twenty-two cyclists including eight rookies started this year's ride. Twenty finished. The forecast conditions of partly cloudy skies, a high of 23 Celsius and low humidity seemed ideal, but the wind, it blew... A couple of pictures and a vast collection courtesy of Peter Murk, et al.

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June 22, 2003

Twenty-four cyclists including fifteen rookies started on a beautiful day and records were broken (crushed, really). Larry Optis set a new overall record of 10:08 and Katharine Sodek at 10:45 is the new holder of the women's record. A few photos

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June 23, 2002

'Twas the kind of Hairshirt we were glad to finish at all. Sixteen started, including two women. Three DNF's, due to the extreme heat.

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June 24, 2001

27 people showed up to do the Hairshirt this year! 27, including 18 rookies! Only one rider was forced to abandon due to mechanical difficulties early in the day. The other 26 were able to complete the ride, 10 of whom did it in twelve hours or less. Winds were favourable all day. It was cool at the start and stayed that way all morning and the partly cloudy skies gave us some respite from the sun. Hardly a Hairshirt at all, in fact. Thank goodness someone decided to tear up a 2 kilometre section of road in Beamsville, so we would have something to talk about. Our thanks to all the participants for giving this year's ride the best turnout in at least a decade. We even have pictures!

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June 25, 2000

Owen's unofficial report: Man, that was ugly! 25 registered, 17 showed up at the start and twelve of us, including two recumbents and one tandem, actually set out into the pouring rain. What were we thinking? It actually stopped raining at about 6:45 a.m., we were enveloped by warm breezes (okay, a howling gale) for a while, we had dry roads, partly cloudy skies and moderate temperatures. By afternoon the clouds had gotten scarce and temperatures (and the humidex) rose steadily. The Millennium Hairshirt was true to its name and delivered the worst of everything. Among the participants it was notable that all who started finished and four of those were rookies. It was a particularity significant ride for Tim Schoahs who rode this year's Hairshirt in memory of his mother, Evelyn.

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June 27, 1999

The 19 cyclists who started the 22nd Edition of the Hairshirt were undetered by the gloomy forecast and dark clouds hanging overhead. Yes it rained for about an hour or so in the morning but no one seemed to complain too much and it certainly didn't slow anyone down! Congratulations to our sixteen finishers (11 rookies).

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June 21, 1998

The 21st Edition of the Hairshirt took place on a hot, sunny day. Traffic was even lighter than usual, perhaps due to Father's Day--who knows? Of the ten who started only three were first time participants, and two of them managed to finish. Thanks to all who participated for keeping the Hairshirt tradition alive!

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June 22, 1997

The 20th Anniversary Edition of the Hairshirt saw the highest preregistration total (24) in recent years but merely an average turnout on the day. Our thanks to the fourteen who did try their luck and a hearty congrats to the twelve who finished—9 for the first time.

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June 23, 1996

The 19th edition of the venerable Hairshirt saw favourable winds and sunny
skies throughout most of the day. Things didn't get underway until 6:20.
Veteran riders commented on the near perfect conditions.

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June 25, 1995

The 18th edition of the Toronto-Niagara-Toronto Hairshirt was a standout in that it saw the lowest time in recent memory recorded by the three front finishers. Read Pat Brill-Edwards' account of this PR ride in Of Hairshirts, Hemorrhoids and Happenstance.

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June 26, 1994

The 17th edition of the Hairshirt will be remembered for the strong winds and long lunches!

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June 20, 1993

The 16th edition of the Toronto-Niagara-Toronto Hairshirt was a cool rainy one, hence the low turnout. Still, with a 90% chance of thunderstorms, any turnout is a good one!

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June 21, 1992